


Where the sun is shining on us still

by FastPacedFreeFall



Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: M/M, Mer AU, MerMay, this is some indulgent-ass fluff so bring a toothbrush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 09:24:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10918977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FastPacedFreeFall/pseuds/FastPacedFreeFall
Summary: Billy and Teddy share a love to rival the depths of the ocean(and Billy should know, having actually plumbed said depths).





	Where the sun is shining on us still

**Author's Note:**

> I started this half a year ago, forgot about it, and then MerMay brought it back to the forefront and wouldn't leave me alone. Just something small that I hope you'll all enjoy.
> 
> Title is taken from "Sirens" by Cher Lloyd.

The warmth of Land confuses Billy as much as it entices him.

Not that Genosha is cold, nor is it hot; it simply is, and it has always been that way. Constant, dependable. An extension of his entire being, as much his family as those around him. It exists in the soft tones of his mother's singing, ever-present in the walls of the palace, weaving the old stories of their people through every corridor; in the harsh _whoosh_ of passing water that follows his brother and uncle as they race; in the stern gaze of his grandfather that permeates out from his place on the throne, watching his family as they glide throughout their lives. Genosha is there in every breath he takes, in the space between his scales, in every droplet of water clinging to his skin when he lifts himself onto shore, like it's trying to cajole him into slipping back into its depths.

Genosha _is_ his Land; he supposes that makes Teddy the Sun.

It makes perfect sense to Billy. Everything about the boy just seems to emit light; not just his thick golden hair that falls into his eyes, perfectly messy in the way only Land hair can be, but the sheen to his light blue eyes, _real_ blue eyes, not the way Billy's brown will glow blue to illuminate the darker depths of the ocean. His eyes mimic the Sun and Sky gleaming down through shallower waters, and his wide smile outshines them both. Usually flashing teeth means trouble in Billy's world, an implicit threat of a brewing fight, but on Teddy it fits perfectly, like a door swinging open to show him everything this strange world has to offer, everything sitting in the palm of Teddy's outstretched hand. A hand that is never anything but tender when Teddy wraps it around his waist or slides their fingers together, something that should make him want to flee but makes him feel so cared for. Like Teddy thinks of him as something precious. 

But all of that, as wonderful as it is, can't compare to the way it feels when Teddy kisses him.

The first time is an absolute shock, and a literal one; he used to shock himself on things all the time as a fingerling, but until now he'd maintained a good control. Billy's only seen half-decayed paintings of human intimacy, but it always seemed a little passive, like something that just happened and then was over in the blink of an eye. He loves his family, they love him, but overt displays of intimacy and skinship don't come naturally to merpeople; even hugs are pushing the limits of their comfort a bit. He's not prepared for the heat racing down his spine and through every one of his synapses. Not ready for his suddenly racing heart or the dizzy headiness that comes with the lack of air, or the white-hot spark at the place where their lips meet.

(He absolutely will not admit to any flailing or screeching that absolutely didn't take place. The rock was still to blame for the knot on his head; it moved just to spite him.)

(Though, it probably wasn't his best move to panic and run off afterward. He'd been too confused to go back for a few days, and by the time he finally got himself together and realized that hey, maybe this kissing thing was something he should pursue, he'd found Teddy dejectedly sitting on the far end of the pier and felt so guilty about hurting him that he had half a mind to just go and find a few sharks to throw himself to. He makes it a point to try to let Teddy explain anything that weirds him out before he lets himself lose his shit in the future.)

Teddy's hesitant to try again after that. Billy is very persuasive.

It soon becomes the best part of every visit. There are times when Billy won't even let Teddy finish what he's saying, too eager to have their lips together again. Teddy takes it with good enough humor, would probably be within rights to get annoyed, but how can he, when someone as incredible, as _impossible_ as Billy, is interested in someone as normal as him?

Teddy thought he'd been hallucinating the first time he saw him; dealing with all of Greg's never-ending bullshit had finally made him snap. He was gonna have to go home to his mom and break the news that he was seeing fairy tale creatures on the beach, and probably needed to be on medication or something.

But the hallucination saw him, too, and then the question became not _if_ he existed, but _**how**_.

He was so sure he'd screwed everything up when he kissed him the first time. He shouldn't have assumed; just because Billy looked more or less human from the waist up(minus the teeth and frills) didn't mean that mermen kissed the same as humans. A painful shock, a screech, and Teddy had ripped his lips away to see Billy fling himself back into the water as fast as possible, leaving Teddy alone for a week with burned lips and a broken heart. He'd come out every evening after with a flashlight, staying as long as he dared and heart sinking when he was met with empty waves, until Billy swam up to him with a mesmerizing-ly beautiful abalone shell and an apology on his lips. He watches Billy more closely after that, moving more slowly as to not scare him, and with even more wonder clenching his heart over the fact that he _actually came back_. 

(The way Billy jumps him, though, assures him he's gotten over it.) 

How does Billy exist in this world? How does someone who looks so fierce and wild and brilliant want to make regular, _romantic_ contact with someone who can't even manage to stand up to a bullying jackass at school? How did Billy, who brings to mind every myth he'd ever heard from his mom or read in books about sirens that enchanted men with their great beauty and voices to drag them to the deep for their meal, look at him with eyes full of both want and trepidation, like _Teddy_ will be the one to push him away or something? 

It doesn't make a lick of sense to him. It probably never will. 

Freezing water laps at their sun-warmed skin, and Teddy looks over to find Billy watching him with warm, soft eyes, and he pulls him into another kiss and thinks that maybe it shouldn't _have_ to make sense. 

Maybe being part of a fairytale wasn't something meant to be questioned. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please review!


End file.
